Rider Down Memorial Service
 Rider Down Memorial Service a way to honour our fallen motorcyclists Date - May 5, 2013 Time – 11 am Place - Bonsor Cenotaph Where – Corner of Imperial and Nelson in Burnaby, B.C. access to motorcycle only parking only off Nelson Ave.



 

The letter below is in the process of being sent to every candidate in the upcoming election. We will post the responses after they are gathered.

Dear Candidate,
The members of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists (BCCOM) are extremely interested in your views and stance on motorcycling in this province. With over 260,000 motorcycle license holders in B.C. that are spread across this province your opinion matters to these voters. We have put together a quick eight questions that have been sent to every candidate in the upcoming election. Your response or lack of response will be posted up on our website www.bccom-bc.com to enable the motorcyclists of B.C. to make an informed decision on the general feelings by a candidate about a sport and lifestyle they hold dear.
The Coalition is not interested in getting a one voice policy from your party. With hundreds, possibly thousands of motorcyclists living in your constituency please take the time to answer these few questions.
 

1. Would you be in favour of Transferrable Plates for motorcycles?
 

2. Will you support a lane filtering proposal for motorcycles similar to California?
 

3. Will you support mandatory training for new riders and would you support lower insurance rates for riders who have taken training courses?
 

4. In order to reduce carnage on the roads would you support an awareness campaign to make auto drivers more aware of motorcyclists?
 

5. Do you support police powers that allow for the levy of fines and the seizure of property without judicial process?
 

6. Do you feel that lane filtering, tax breaks, revised insurance programs and increased motorcycle parking in urban areas is an effective method to decreasing fuel consumption, congestion, and emissions?
 

7. Will you work towards a standardized provincial noise testing policy to insure all cities and municipalities have consistent and fair regulations for all motor vehicles?
 

8. Would you be in favour of a comprehensive reporting system within the Insurance Corporation of B.C. in conjunction with police to enable an accurate compilation of factors surrounding motorcycle accidents i.e. make, model, length of time riding, training courses?
 

Please feel free to contact me for any further information you may need on any of these questions.
Sincerely,
Adele Tompkins, executive director
B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists

Commuting By Motorcycle: Impact Analysis
 

20110921_Motorfietsen_eindrapport_Eng.pdf
How and Why Motorcycle Lane Splitting is Safe and Good - RideApart
watch-v=JNGD9AAIfFU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
For the new California Lane Splitting guidelines please click below.
lanesplitguide.html
Election Questions
With the upcoming Election May 14, 2013 the Coalition will be submitting a maximum of 8 questions to all candidates running in all parties. We are looking for your input, please keep the questions short, top the point and motorcycle related.
Meeting with the Minister of Transportation
Apparently the reports have hit the desk of Transportation Minister Polak! I will be meeting with the Minister and Blair Lekstrom on two of BCCOM’s proposals, Transferrable Plates and Lane Filtering at the end of February in Victoria.
Gathering in Memory of Peter Jack
There will be a Celebration of Life held November 10th at 5pm at the Flamingo Hotel 10768 King George Highway Surrey, BC all are welcome.
Attn: Adele Tompkins
Ms. Tompkins:
I’ve been unable to reach you by phone, but would like to engage the motorcycling community in the development of a Safe Mobility Plan in the City of Surrey. Please review the message below, and if possible forward it survey to your members so their voices can be heard.
Please also feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns regarding road safety in Surrey, from the motorcyclist’s perspective.
Regards,
Raheem Dilgir, P.Eng., PTOE, MBA
Road Safety Consultant
City of Surrey Safe Mobility Plan
______________________

Dear Surrey Community member:

Collisions on our road network affect everyone. The City of Surrey has always made safety a priority; however, we believe that we can do more. We are taking action by preparing a Safe Mobility Plan that will set goals, identify actions and initiatives as well as establishing a monitoring program. In order to create the most successful plan, we need your help. By taking a few minutes to complete the following survey and forwarding it to your members you will be providing us an understanding of public opinion regarding road safety, which is vital to moving forward on this plan.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SafeMobility

Please feel free to contact us at this e-mail address if you have any questions or comments. The results will be kept confidential. Prizes will be available!

Thank you for your support on this important initiative.
20110921_Motorfietsen_eindrapport_Eng.pdf

How and Why Motorcycle Lane Splitting is Safe and Good - RideApart
watch-v=JNGD9AAIfFU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

For the new California Lane Splitting guidelines please click below.
lanesplitguide.html

Election Questions
With the upcoming Election May 14, 2013 the Coalition will be submitting a maximum of 8 questions to all candidates running in all parties. We are looking for your input, please keep the questions short, top the point and motorcycle related.

Meeting with the Minister of Transportation
Apparently the reports have hit the desk of Transportation Minister Polak! I will be meeting with the Minister and Blair Lekstrom on two of BCCOM’s proposals, Transferrable Plates and Lane Filtering at the end of February in Victoria.

Gathering in Memory of Peter Jack
There will be a Celebration of Life held November 10th at 5pm at the Flamingo Hotel 10768 King George Highway Surrey, BC all are welcome.

Attn: Adele Tompkins
Ms. Tompkins:
I’ve been unable to reach you by phone, but would like to engage the motorcycling community in the development of a Safe Mobility Plan in the City of Surrey. Please review the message below, and if possible forward it survey to your members so their voices can be heard.
Please also feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns regarding road safety in Surrey, from the motorcyclist’s perspective.
Regards,
Raheem Dilgir, P.Eng., PTOE, MBA
Road Safety Consultant
City of Surrey Safe Mobility Plan
______________________

Dear Surrey Community member:

Collisions on our road network affect everyone. The City of Surrey has always made safety a priority; however, we believe that we can do more. We are taking action by preparing a Safe Mobility Plan that will set goals, identify actions and initiatives as well as establishing a monitoring program. In order to create the most successful plan, we need your help. By taking a few minutes to complete the following survey and forwarding it to your members you will be providing us an understanding of public opinion regarding road safety, which is vital to moving forward on this plan.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SafeMobility

Please feel free to contact us at this e-mail address if you have any questions or comments. The results will be kept confidential. Prizes will be available!

Thank you for your support on this important initiative.

Insurance Corporation of British Columbia introduces motorcycle crash map
http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/JR_01CrashesinvolvingMotorcyclesinBC20072011/MotorcycleDashboard?:embed=y

Great Article on BCCOM written in Inside Motorcycles to read the story click on the link http://tinyurl.com/7u52ddr

Dear Ms. Tompkins:

I am responding to your July 30, 2012 e-mail to the Honourable Shirley Bond, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, regarding the consultations on the Province’s proposed Comprehensive Approach to Motorcycle Safety. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify the issue you raised.

In May of 2012, Minister Bond announced that the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (OSMV) would be carrying out an expedited stakeholder consultation on the Province’s plans to enhance motorcycle safety in British Columbia. The objectives of this consultation are to update stakeholders on how the proposed changes have evolved and taken into account input from previous consultations, and to gain further stakeholder feedback. A significant part of this process has consisted in hearing out motorcyclists themselves, by reaching out to the BC Coalition of Motorcyclists (BCCOM) and the Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada (MCC).
...

The Minister is committed to helping improve motorcycle safety and recognizes the need for swift action. Due to the expedited nature of these consultations, the Province did not target the consultation to the non-motorcycling public at large. While the Province is focussing its efforts on reaching out to representative motorcycling stakeholder groups, this would never preclude the public from submitting their input on what needs to be done to help improve motorcycle safety. As always, public input is encouraged. To submit recommendations to the OSMV, I encourage the public to write to OSMV.Mailbox@gov.bc.ca by August 15, 2012.

Thank you for writing.

Yours sincerely,



Stephanie Melvin
Deputy Superintendent
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING MOTORCYCLING in BC
 
I have been invited to the consultation meeting regarding these new proposals.
The Coalition and its members have been aware of the proposed changes sine 1999 when we sent out the proposal and asked for feedback. As you are well aware the helmet law and seating position has already come into law. For the past 3 years BCCOM has spoken with many members, clubs, safety instructors, dealers and the motorcycling population in general regarding the next set of laws to be implemented.
 
Please go to www.bccom-bc.com under BCCOM NEWS to read the proposal from the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (OSMV). Please note there is also the Coroners “Death Review Panel on Motorcycle Fatalities” up there as well that is where these changes originated from. There is a list of questions on the last page of the OSMV’s proposal, please send your thoughts to office@bccom-bc.com or if you have questions you may also call the office at 1 877 580-0111 or (604) 580-0111.
 
 
The following is what BCCOM has heard over the past 3 years and would like your input once again before I go to the consultation which is coming up shortly, sorry for the short notice but I just received this Friday. It is a lot of reading but this is important to motorcycling in this province so please be a part of the process.
 
The opinion we has gotten over the past 3 years is this:
 
 
98 hp Restriction
 
- Why would motorcycle riders be limited to a certain size bike when new drivers may drive any vehicle they want i.e. BMW’s, Audi’s, Mustang’s etc. While the OSMV points to costs of the vehicles it has been already proven during last years seizures of high horsepower vehicles involved in street racing displaying an L or N on the cars, they were not owned by them but by their parents.
 
-While stating that motorcycle deaths have doubled from 1996-2010 they fail to mention that the number of insured motorcycles on the road has doubled as well.
 
-The Coroners report recommendations regarding this are that “restrictions be imposed on the power of the motorcycle a rider can operate to specified classes based on the power of the motorcycle on which the rider takes their road test” which most people we have spoken with  find fair and reasonable.
 
 -We would question the statement “a number of industry representatives have recommended a flat 98 hp” do they represent the majority of dealers in the province? This would mean that if a man who was in his 50’s and had driven most of his life wanted to retire and buy a 2011 Gold Wing to go touring he would not be able to as it is 119 hp for a 2 year novice period.
 
-Most motorcyclists feel that without the proper skills reckless riding; speeding etc. can be a factor on any size motorcycle.
 
-While in 2010 speed was the number 2 cause of collisions number 1 would be inattentive car drivers. While speaking of rolling out a program directed towards them we have yet to see anything tangible in this regard.
 
Proposed Changes to the Graduated Licensing Program (GLP)
 
-Most motorcyclists have no problem with increasing the Learner Program from 30 days to 6 months, but feel the Novice period of an additional year too long.
 
- The majority of riders feel that the increased passenger restriction is unwarranted as riders feel the decision of when they are confident to take a passenger it not taken lightly and should not be part of the program.
 
-Every rider I spoke with agrees with the zero tolerance level for L riders but an N rider that has one beer with a friend should not be penalized.
 
-With the L and N signs it becomes a matter of space on the new plates that are now enforced.
 
-During the Coroners Review Panel the discussion around supervisors was directed towards the fact that often times the supervisors actually cause distraction. The coroners report recommendation was “That the role, definition and accountability of supervisors be reviewed and that an information package be created and made available to new rides to provide to their supervisors”.
 
-Many riders feel that perhaps the supervisor should have held their class 6 for a specific amount of time as opposed to an “age” of the rider i.e. a 25 year old could have their license for a month while a 21 year old could have held their license for up to 7 years, who would be the better supervisor?
 
Rider Training Enhancements
 
-While training is key it is impossible at this time to have “mandatory” training in BC as the schools are full and in the more remote parts of the provinces the distance and numbers of training schools would be insurmountable at this time.
 
-Incentives such as lower insurance premiums or shorter novice period would, we believe, encourage riders to take a course until there more schools available for the mandatory component.
 
Many motorcyclists may be inclined to brush these new proposals off as it does not affect them. I would beg to differ, the more restrictions there are the harder and less attractive motorcycling could become which will lessen our numbers. The goal should be increasing the number of motorcyclists so please send in your thoughts and feelings as these laws could change forever the face of motorcycling in the province of B.C.
 
Sincerely,
 
Adele Tompkins, executive director
B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists

Click below to read
Ministry of Justice Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles Consultation Document: A Comprehensive Approach to Motorcycle Safety
Coroners Death Review Panel on Motorcycle Fatalities

What are your thoughts regarding having the The SAE J2825 Motorcycle Sound Test become the standard used in Canada?
Do you feel that having a standard will help in reducing "subjective" opinions at the side of the road? Looking for constructive input.
Have heard from the Ministry of Transportation and Highways that this will be coming to the table for discussion sooner than later for the province of B.C.
sound-test.pdf

Motorcycle Impoundments September 21/2010 - June 21/2011

Motorcycle Fatalities 2003 - 2010

Motorcycle Driver License, Insurance Policies in Force and Crash Data 2003 - 2011

ICBC Basic Vehicle Insurance Rating System
Attended the ICBC meeting this morning and think you should become involved or at least read what some of the options they have come up with. This is in response to a more "driver" based system in which the good drivers would get lower premiums and high risk drivers insurance would go up. Part of the discussion is including the tickets for things such as 40 over, racing, undue care and attention and a host of others that will affect your insurance so it is not just about accidents.

There is a public meeting tonight at 6-9pm at the SFU Segal Graduate School of Business 500 Granville St.

The entire Discussion Guide and Feedback form is online at www.publicengagement.icbc.com and I suggest you have a look and submit a response form.
The Open house schedule is there as well, your chance to become involved. Apparently this is the first time in about 30 years that they have held meetings to ask for public input.

Regarding Seating Position Legislation
 On May 3, at the MLA Ride I spoke with Minister Bond on the steps of the legislature to voice the concerns of the motorcyclists in this province regarding the wording in the media release April 30th. On Friday May 4th I sent a letter to Minister Bond with cc’s to the several people in Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (OSMV) and Minister Lekstrom. I outlined the problems with the press release and the “would be regulations” starting with the fact that I was told all the way through this consultation that the reasoning behind this was to keep young kids off bikes till they could reach the foot pegs. I outlined that if it was being written with stunting in mind there was already legislation in place for that and as for removing your butt from the seat ICBC’s own “Learn to Ride Smart” handbook on page 135 says “• When riding from one road surface level to a different level, rise off the seat, keeping your weight on the foot pegs if possible”.  
Then had a teleconference Friday May 11th with the Deputy Superintendent, the Director of Policy, and the Senior Policy Adviser all from the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, Ministry of Justice. Joining us was Superintendent Denis Boucher, Officer in Charge, E-Division Traffic Services, RCMP. I was assured that the intent of the seating legislation was about having young children who could not reach the foot pegs off motorcycles and to stop people from riding with children in front of them. Superintendent Boucher is a motorcyclist and assures me he stands to go over bumps and also stretches his legs.
The OSMV is at this time “enhancing” the message for clarity and Denis Boucher is putting forth to all Police Chiefs in B.C. the intent of this new legislation. Once I receive the “enhanced” message I will send it out.